


The Phoenix Arises

by asmaanixx



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 02:20:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10934967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmaanixx/pseuds/asmaanixx
Summary: Eons ago, a group of mighty Warlocks had sacrificed their lives to vanquish the Great Darkness that had threatened to destroy their world. Now, after a major catastrophe, the threat of Evil has arisen once more and along with it, so has the source of its destruction.At least, that is the story that has been told for the past decade and for a group of first year magic users, it serves as a great opportunity for them to test their potential and just have a little fun on the way. They surely had never expected their names to become synonymous with the title of Legendary Defenders. But now that they have it, they won't be giving it back. They actually quite like the sound of it.





	The Phoenix Arises

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I'm changing this to a stand alone piece. It is unofficial and has absolutely no bearing on 'There is a Little Magic in the Air'.

Frederico Alvarez-Castilla treaded carefully on the ashen ground. He could not bear to consider how many corpses he may have just had to walk on in order to assess the full extent of the damage that was caused by the attack. It truly was a ghastly sight to behold. Merely a few hours ago, Willow Heights had been a peaceful and luscious neighborhood to live in. Inhabited by one of the oldest magical families, it had become a sort of hub for newer generations to visit and learn about their ancestral pasts. Now, it was nothing but a decrepit skeleton with all signs of life snuffed out.

“How did this happen?” Frederico asked, more so to himself than anyone in particular. A wave of guilt washed over him. Surely he could have done something to prevent such a disaster from occurring. But then again, some of the most powerful beings were living in this area and they were reduced to dust. What could he have possibly done that they couldn’t?

“It’s horrible isn’t it?” Julio commented, coming to stand beside Frederico, his feet crunching as he did so.

Frederico remained silent for he didn’t have an adequate response to the question. After seeing the massacre of an entire neighborhood, the word ‘horrible’ didn’t quite cut it. From the inside of his long dark blue robe, he pulled out a wooden staff. Raising it high, he cracked the sky with a bright blue light. The hordes of Reapers that were circling the area shifted away, hissing at the burn of the illumination.

The two wizards walked down the street, levitating debris and placing them in neat piles. Occasionally, they would call out for one of the wizards working in the Pyro Unit when a body had been found. Or at least, what they had assumed would be a body if it hadn’t been charred to a crisp.

“You know there’s a rumor running around.” Julio revealed in a hushed whisper, as they stepped inside a rubble of a home. Julio dissipated the heavy smoke that had been sitting in the lingering air. “Apparently there was a survivor.”

Frederico halted and looked at his brother with wide brown eyes. “A survivor? But, how could that be?” Given the level of destruction around them, Frederico couldn’t think of anyone living in that neighborhood who could have survived.

“Don’t know.” Julio sighed as he toed pieces of torn paper, “They’re saying it was a baby.”

Frederico stilled. A _baby_ survived such a brutal attack and not one of the more powerfully experienced wizards and warlocks? It had to be a lie. If such a baby did exist then surely it would have been at the center of attention by the Magical community by now. Unless, it was being kept a secret for a particular purpose…

“Where’s the baby now?” Frederico asked.

“Again, I don’t know.” Julio inhaled heavily. “If the rumor is true, then the logical place for it to be would be with one of the Healers. Maybe with one of the Mages? They would love to lap up all the attention and fix themselves as being the center of everything.”

“I don’t think so. If it truly were the Mages, then they wouldn’t have waited this long. This entire place would have been lit up like Juniper’s party.”

“So do you think it’s a lie?” Julio asked.

“Not really.” Frederico replied slowly, remembering a story that he used to hear a long time ago. His hands began to grow cold and his heartbeat raced.

“ _Hermano_?” Julio gently placed his hand on his brother’s arm, noticing the way his hands had begun to tremble.

“We need to get home. _Now_.”

* * *

 “May I be so bold as to ask why you have called this meeting?” Allura spoke, sitting straight at the head of the table.

“Yes, I must first apologize for gathering everyone here so late.” Frederico stated, looking around at all the leaders of various magical communities that had gathered together. “I also thank you for choosing to spend your precious and _very_ valuable time to congregate here tonight.”

“Oh, will you get on with it?” Ava snapped, her hair glowing a bright orange-red.

Frederico gulped, looking down and fixing his glasses. “I have called you here because of what happened tonight at Willows Height.” His mouth opened and closed, the words remaining stuck in his throat.

“I think before we proceed, we should have a moment of silence for all the dearly departed.” Allura said solemnly, her eyes glistening.

They all hung their heads, and in their own observances, sent out their prayers and well wishes. In unison, they all looked up, releasing frustrated sighs.

“You may now proceed Frederico.” Allura said, her hands clasped before her.

“Thank you, Headmistress.” Frederico bowed. “The massacre at Willows Height is a tragedy. However, I don’t think it’s the only one.” Several bodies shifted in their chairs. “I think there will be more.”

“Based upon what analysis are you making this conclusion?” Glendora sneered. “Do you really think we would not be able to have seen multiple tragedies of this magnitude?”

“No offense, _Glendora_ but you weren’t able to see Willow Heights now were you?” Julio defended. “In fact you haven’t been able to see anything lately, now have you?” He asked slyly, sitting back in his chair.

“Glendora, is this true?” Allura snapped her eyes at the Seer sitting beside her.

“Y-yes.” The woman admitted, unable to look at her mentor in the eye.

“We will speak of this later.” Allura stated, silencing any further comments from her pupil. “However, the question remains Frederico. How are you reaching this conclusion?”

“The Legend of the Phoenix.” Frederico stated.

The room erupted in a wild chorus of disbelief chatter.

“Are you seriously telling me that I left my family just to hear a campfire story?” Ava asked, with an incredulous chuckle. “You really are incredible.”

“You know I can understand why your wife would be out of sorts considering she just gave birth and all, but what’s your excuse Fred?” Cyrus barked, crossing his arms.

“I know it’s a story that has been passed down for many generations for all of us, but it is something that can’t be ignored so easily. The Warlocks gave their life to ensure our safety, we can’t just ignore all that.” Frederico pleaded as some members began to stand up.

“We will _never_ forget their sacrifice.” Allura stated in a voice loud enough to silence all the chaotic voices and make the standing members take their seats. “Their heroism is an act of inspiration for all of us, no matter the culture we come from. However, that is a story and unless you have some solid grounds to base this upon…”

“There was a baby.” Frederico interrupted. “There was a baby that was born out of the ashes.”

The entire room went dead silent.

“But I thought…” Ava blinked, the flames in her hair reducing.

“Yeah, we thought it was a rumor too.” Julio commented, licking his lips. “But we asked some Trackers to assess the area. They agreed that there was a sign of life that didn’t belong with the others.”

“Not to mention all the Reapers that were circling the area.” Frederico added.

“Reapers are common at scenes of death.” Omar commented in his booming voice.

“Yes they are, but everyone was dead. All the souls had been moved on so what purpose did the Reapers have for staying back for that long? Not to mention _that_ many of them? Surely, it can’t require that much energy to take away one baby?” Julio argued back.

The members broke off into their own private conversations as they all discussed what the next course of action should be.

“The logical step would be to find this baby.” Kai spoke loudly, gathering everyone’s attention.

“We’ve tried.” Frederico explained. “There’s been no luck. It’s as if, it just disappeared.”

“Or maybe not.” Allura spoke softly. “You must have been tracking it using its magical abilities as the parameters. But what if the powers have gone dormant? What if they’ve been repressed?”

“That would make sense.” Omar agreed. “I mean, many of our veterans have had to keep their powers at bay just so that they didn’t have to deal with past traumas.”

“And the complete destruction of one’s own home sure as hell qualifies.” Ava mused.

“Keeping the baby aside, do we know who caused the attack in the first place?” Kai, one of the elderly mermen inquired.

“Nothing definitive I’m afraid.” A fairy named Maxine spoke, her voice high-pitched and squeaking. Her wings excreted a magical dust as they fluttered nervously. “But…” She looked across the room at an Enchantress that had remained quiet thus far. “…we did see something.”

“Well, come on out with it.” Omar bit out. “Don’t forget that if you’re caught purposely withholding information that could put the greater public in danger, you _will_ be prosecuted.”

“I know that!” The fairy snapped back, her features distorting into something truly ugly and scary. “I didn’t say anything because I’m not sure of _what_ I saw.” She calmed and withdrew into herself, her wings closing around her body. “It was… _haunting_.”

The room became even thicker with more tension.

“Can you… conjure it?” Frederico suggested softly, so that Maxine didn’t become too alarmed.

“No, I-I can’t, but…” She looked back at the Enchantress, whose face became stern with concentration.

“Dani?” Frederico called.

She slammed her hand on the table and gritted, “No.”

“No you can’t, or no you won’t?” Ava asked, her arms crossed and eyes staring sharply at her.

“Take what you won’t, but a repetition of what happened at Willow Heights won’t be happening in this room.”

“Why not?” Omar asked, his voice rising. “If this can save all our lives, then we have the _right_ to know.”

“Oh shut your trap with all your legal jargon Omar! We’re not standing before the Council so save your breath.” Dani shouted.

Allura clenched her jaw. “Dani, he is right.” She spoke in a firm voice. “If you have information that could potentially help us save our community, then we must know.”

“What if it brings us more harm than good?” Dani asked in a soft voice. “What if me showing that…” She licked her lips, “that image strikes us all dead. Right here and right now?”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous.” Ava scoffed. “You and Maxine have seen it and are still fit and fine. How bad can it be?”

Dani looked around anxiously and with a little encouraging nod from Maxine, she relented. With a swirl of her long finger, an apparition rose out of a puff of dark black smoke. The symbol, was of an upside down trident, cloaked in a shade of deep violet. Mere seconds later, the trident transformed itself into that of a menacing skull. What frightened the members seated in the room was that skull appeared to be cackling. With a sharp swipe of her hand, Dani cleared away the image, though it did little much to remove the imprint that had been burned into everyone’s minds.

“Well…” Kai spoke after a prolonged silence. “Now we know.”

Cyrus scoffed.

“Does anyone else know about this?” Omar asked, looking at Dani.

“I don’t think so.” She replied, her brows scrunching as she tried to recall the scene. “There was Maxine, the Reapers and I but we saw the symbol from afar.”

Maxine nodded. “And by the time we reached the Heights, the symbol was gone.”

“And let me guess. There was no sign of any baby.” Ava remarked, her hair losing their flames.

“No.” Dani replied, cracking her knuckles.

“How convenient.” Cyrus sneered.

“You think they’re linked somehow?” Julio asked.

“Death symbol’s there, the baby is there. The death symbol’s gone and so is the baby. Oh, I think it’s more than just a mere coincidence.”

“Oh for goodness’ sake!” Frederico exclaimed. “It’s just a baby!”

“Hey, you’re the one who brought this up in the first place!” Cyrus yelled back pointing accusingly at Frederico. “In case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you that the whole reason why the Warlocks sacrificed themselves was to consume the Darkness that was threatening to destroy our world in the first place! And what do you know,” He scoffed, spreading his arms wide, “the untimely death of an entire neighborhood of magical creatures. I think it’s a prime recipe for Darkness to be resurrected once again, don’t you think?”

“Cyrus, that’s enough!” Kai snapped. They could faintly hear the sky crack in the back. “Do not make light of our ordeals.”

“Honestly.” Julio shook his head. “You would think a _vampire_ of all creatures would understand what it means to be persecuted and shunned from society.”

“Wanna try that again, _witch_.” Cyrus snarled, leaning forward with his protruding fangs.

As if on cue, everyone in the room powered up, revealing their readiness to attack at any given notice.

“Oh simmer down, would you?” Allura said, not at all pleased with their childish antics. “We have a far greater threat to deal with than our own pesky little problems.” The members powered down, but their auras remained tense. “Now, it is true that we do not know if this is a sign for the End of Days or just some crazy wacko. What we do know is that whoever, or _whatever_ was behind this attack, can either be _extremely_ powerful _or,_ and this is important, they could be really weak.”

“Let’s hope it’s the latter.” Frederico mumbled, his eyes lost in a distant gaze.

“Do we inform the Council about this?” Omar asked.

“No.” Allura said, shaking her head. “If we do that word will undoubtedly get to the Mages and they will try to seize the story for their own.”

“Not to mention what they might do to the baby.” Julio remarked, a bit of trepidation laced in his voice. “We all know how obsessed they are with the Warlocks. If they get even a whiff of the baby rumor, I’m pretty sure they will try to seize all our children for inspection or whatever.”

Frederico went pale.

“Okay, so here’s what we have to do.” Allura changed the topic with a clap of her hand. “We need to find out more about this symbol, and see who else was at the scene of the crime. Get a list of _all_ the creatures that had been in and out of the area. I don’t care if they stayed for a second, if they popped in by accident or if they were just looking around. I want to know everything. Then there’s the baby. I want all available hands to be used in finding out whether this baby rumor is true. Ask the Trackers to check again, rope in some of the werewolves and see if they can pick up a stronger scent.”

“While we’re at it we might as well look into the Legend a little more. See if there were any mentioning of the End Days, the baby, symbol, or whatever. Look into _all_ the translations that we have of the story. Folklores that are told in the dead of night, or stories that are read before one goes to sleep. _Everything_ needs to be looked into.” Frederico added to which he gained Allura’s nod.

“It’s not easy, I know. There’s a lot of area that we need to cover but honestly, if the End of Days is coming, I wouldn’t have asked for a greater group to fight along with than you all.” Her eyes gleamed as she gave everyone a watery smile.

As if an instant, the tension in the air lowered and everyone gained a little morale boost.

“I think it’s time we all went home back to our families now.” Allura dismissed with a soft smile. “Thank you all for coming. It truly was informative.” She said, looking pointedly at Ava who gave Allura a sheepish smile.

Within minutes the room was cleared off but a residue of all the magical tension that had been created by the members, stayed behind.

* * *

“You were gone for a while.” Itxaro whispered, silently padding her way over to her husband.

“It was a long night.” He leaned into her touch as she hugged him from behind.

“Anything you want to talk about?” She asked, soothing away his tension.

“Everything.” They both chuckled. “But it can wait in the morning. Right now, I just want to see my baby sleep.” He said, lightly stroking his newborn’s chubby cheek.

“He was really good.” Itxaro said, smilingly.

“Yeah?”

“Hmm. Definitely more painless than Allita and Alejandro.” She added, remembering the first two childbirths she had gone through.

“Just don’t tell Allita that. She will throw the greatest tantrum that you have ever seen.” Frederico teased in a hushed whisper.

Itxaro on the other hand, couldn’t repress her giggles.

“Now you’ve done it.” Frederico whined when the baby started wailing. Cooing and making various baby sounds that Frederico had become a master of, he picked up his newborn son and cradled him in his arms. “Have we thought of a name for him yet?” He asked when his son looked up at him with bright blue eyes, his crying simmering down upon feeling his mother’s touch.

“I was thinking of Lance.” Itxaro said, stroking the baby’s cheek, her mind rapidly weaving together all the possible future moments she could be having with her newborn.

“Lance.” Frederico tried the name around his tongue. “Isn’t that a bit deviant?” Frederico asked. After all, their other children had fairly traditional names.

“It is and to be honest, I’m not even sure where the idea came from but ever since it rooted itself, I couldn’t keep it away.” She yawned, as she walked back to the bed.

“I like it.” Frederico said but Itxaro had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Father and son however, engaged each other in one-sided conversations until the sun came up. At the end of it all, when the sun rose and warmed Frederico’s face, he wondered, just what kind of world was he creating for his children?


End file.
